Iron Man 2
|producer(s) = |writer(s) = Justin Theroux|composer = Johb Debney|release_date = May 7, 2010|running_time = 125 Minutes|image1 = Iron Man 2 Official Poster.jpg|previous_movie = |next_movie = }}Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero filmbased on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, and is the third filmin the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. Six months after the events of Iron Man, Tony Stark is resisting calls by the United States government to hand over the Iron Man technology while also combating his declining health from the arc reactor in his chest. Meanwhile, rogue Russian scientist Ivan Vankohas developed the same technology and built weapons of his own in order to pursue a vendetta against the Stark family, in the process joining forces with Stark's business rival, Justin Hammer. Following the successful release of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios announced and immediately set to work on producing a sequel. In July of that same year Theroux was hired to write the script, and Favreau was signed to return and direct. Downey, Paltrow and Jackson were set to reprise their roles from Iron Man, while Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. In the early months of 2009, Rourke, Rockwell and Johansson filled out the supporting cast, and filming took place from April to July of that year. Like its predecessor the film was shot mostly in California, except for a key sequence in Monaco. Iron Man 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on April 26, 2010, and was released internationally between April 28 and May 7 before releasing in the U.S. on May 7, 2010. The film received generally positive reviews and was commercially successful, grossing over $623.9 million at the worldwide box office. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on September 28, 2010. The third installment of the Iron Man series, Iron Man 3, was released on May 3, 2013. Plot In Russia, the media covers Tony Stark's disclosure of his identity as Iron Man. Ivan Vanko, whose father Anton Vanko has just died, sees this and begins building a miniature arc reactor similar to Stark's. Six months later, Stark is a superstar and uses his Iron Man suit for peaceful means, resisting government pressure to sell his designs. He reinstitutes the Stark Expo to continue his father Howard's legacy. The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he cannot find a substitute. Growing increasingly reckless and despondent about his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, and hires Stark employee Natalie Rushman to replace her as his personal assistant. Stark competes in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, where he is attacked in the middle of the race by Vanko, who wields electrified whips. Stark dons his Mark V armor and defeats Vanko, but the suit is severely damaged. Vanko explains his intention was to prove to the world that Iron Man is not invincible. Impressed by Vanko's performance, Stark's rival, Justin Hammer, fakes Vanko's death while breaking him out of prison and asks him to build a line of armored suits to upstage Stark. During what he believes is his final birthday party, Stark gets drunk while wearing the Mark IV suit. Disgusted, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodesdons Stark's Mark II prototype armor and tries to restrain him. The fight ends in a stalemate, so Rhodes confiscates the Mark II for the U.S. Air Force. Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark, revealing "Rushman" to be Agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally. Fury explains that Vanko's father jointly invented the arc reactor with Stark, but when Anton tried to sell it for profit, Stark had him deported. The Soviets sent Anton to the gulag. Fury gives Stark some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark synthesizes it. When he learns Vanko is still alive, he places the new element in his arc reactor and ends his palladium dependency. At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark arrives in the Mark VI armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko remotely takes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Romanoff and Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan go after Vanko at Hammer's factory. Vanko escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes. Stark and Rhodes together defeat Vanko and his drones. Vanko seemingly commits suicide by blowing up his suit. At a debriefing, Fury informs Stark that because of Stark's difficult personality, S.H.I.E.L.D. intends to use him only as a consultant. Stark and Rhodes receive medals for their heroism. In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a desert in New Mexico. Cast * Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man * Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts * Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow * Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer * Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury * Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson * John Slattery as Howard Stark * Garry Shandling as Senator Stern * Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. (voice) * Kate Mara as a U.S. Marshal * Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart * Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan * Christiane Amanpour as Herself * Philippe Bergeron as Detective Lemieux * Larry Ellison as Himself * DJ AM as Himself * Tim Guinee as Major Allen * Eric L. Haney as General Meade * Ali Khan as Ten Rings Agent * Eugene Lazarev as Anton Vanko * Stan Lee as "Larry King" * Helena Mattsson as Rebecca * Anya Monzikova as Rebeca * Margy Moore as Bambi Arbogast * Olivia Munn as Chess Roberts * Elon Musk as Himself * Bill O'Reilly as Himself * Davin Ransom as Young Tony Stark * Jack White as Jack * Max Favreau as Peter Parker (uncredited) Trivia * Many scenes in the film explicitly foreshadow The Avengers (2012): - When Tony Stark goes through his father's case an old Captain America comic book can be seen inside; later he uses a replica of Captain America's Shield, previously seen lying on a desk in Iron Man, to build a particle accelerator - a news report of The Incredible Hulk (2008)'s campus battle is seen near the end of the film - Stark and Nick Fury discuss Stark's membership throughout the film - and Agent Phil Coulson finds Thor's Hammer, Mjølnir in a crater in the post-credits scene. * Robert Downey, Jr. recommended that an Iron Man suit be designed that would fit into a suitcase, like in the comics and Iron Man (1994). This idea was changed to the suit transforming into a suitcase. * The character of Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) is a combination of Iron Man's enemies Whiplash (who possesses a specially-designed razor/acid whip) and the Crimson Dynamo (who wears armor that can control electricity). * In the comics, Whiplash's real name is Mark Scarlotti then later Leeann Foreman. In the movie his name is Ivan Vanko which is the last name of the first Crimson Dynamo (another Iron Man villain). Also Ivan's father's name is Anton Vanko, which is the name of the first Crimson Dynamo. * Black Widow's alias of "Natalie Rushman" is inspired by "Nancy Rushman", a S.H.I.E.L.D. cover identity she has used in the comics. * Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff is never referred to as "Black Widow" throughout the entire film. * In the comics, Justin Hammer was a shrewd but elderly businessman. He was re-worked as a younger character in the film to make him a contemporary rival to Tony Stark. The original purpose of the character in the comics was to explain why the various enemies Iron Man fought somehow gained unique and extremely advanced weapons, but usually kept them for themselves to commit violent crimes instead making money by bringing them to market. Iron Man eventually discovers the reason is because Hammer gives the weapons to various criminals as part of their contracts to become his mercenaries with the agreement that they hand over a percentage of the loot from their crimes. * When first talking with Senator Stern, Tony Stark says he would gladly accept the position of Secretary of Defense. In the comics, Tony Stark actually was appointed the Secretary of Defense. * Tony Stark is seen getting drunk at his birthday party. This is a homage to how in the comics Tony Stark has a recurring problem with alcholism as a way of dealing with stress. * Al Pacino was considered for the role of Justin Hammer. * Fann Wong, Ziyi Zhang, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone were considered for the role of Rumiko Fujikawa. * Emily Blunt was set to star as Black Widow but had to pull out due scheduling conflicts with her movie Gulliver's Travels (2010). Before Scarlett Johansson replaced Emily Blunt as Black Widow, Jessica Biel, Gemma Arterton, Natalie Portman, Jessica Alba, and Angelina Jolie were considered. * Edward Norton was rumored to reprise his The Incredible Hulk role as Bruce Banner, in a cameo for this film, as a foreshadowing of The Avengers, but this did not happen. * Tim Robbins was considered to play Howard Stark, Tony's father. * Scarlett Johansson dyed her hair red before she even got the part of Black Widow because she wanted the role so badly. To prepare for her role, Scarlett Johansson trained six weeks before the movie started principal photography and the entire six months of shooting the movie. Scarlett Johansson was influenced in her performance by the femme fatales Nina Ivanovna Yakushova of Ninotchka (1939), and Anya Amasova of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). * Cameo: Larry Ellison The CEO of Oracle Corporation (a billionaire playboy, who has often been compared to Tony Stark) is glimpsed briefly at the Stark Expo. As he walks past, Stark says, "It's the Oracle of Oracle". Oracle's brand is prominently placed at several points in the film, including the climactic showdown at a fictional "Oracle Biodome". * According to Don Cheadle, he tried to make the role of Stark's right-hand man, James Rhodes, his own, but eventually stole as much as possible from Terrence Howard's performance in the first film to bring him to life. * Sam Rockwell, who was one of the original choices for the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man in Iron Man (2008), plays Stark's antagonist Justin Hammer in the film. * Director Jon Favreau stated that the role of Senator Stern was a nod to Howard Stern, as was the casting of Garry Shandling, whom Stern is a big fan of, for the part. * Writer Shane Black recommended that Tony Stark's characterization be inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist who had worked on the atomic bomb but after witnessing his creation's destructive potential defamed himself as "the Destroyer of Worlds" and sank into depression. * According to director Jon Favreau, the Mandarin in this film allows for "incorporating the whole pantheon of villains". The main influences on the Mandarin's characterization were J.R.R. Tolkien's Dark Lord Sauron; Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars (1983) and The Godfather: Part II (1974)'s Michael Corleone. * Renowned animator Genndy Tartakovsky was hired to storyboard the film's action sequences. * Robert Downey, Jr. recommended screenwriter Justin Theroux, who did Downey's Tropic Thunder (2008), to Jon Favreau to write the film's script. * To prepare for his role as Whiplash, Mickey Rourke paid a visit to Butyrka Prison, Moscow. * Writer Shane Black recommended that Tony Stark's characterization be inspired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist who had worked on the atomic bomb but after witnessing his creation's destructive potential defamed himself as "the Destroyer of Worlds" and sank into depression. * According to director Jon Favreau, the Mandarin in this film allows for "incorporating the whole pantheon of villains". The main influences on the Mandarin's characterization were J.R.R. Tolkien's Dark Lord Sauron; Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars (1983) and The Godfather: Part II (1974)'s Michael Corleone. * Renowned animator Genndy Tartakovsky was hired to storyboard the film's action sequences. * Robert Downey, Jr. recommended screenwriter Justin Theroux, who did Downey's Tropic Thunder (2008), to Jon Favreau to write the film's script. * To prepare for his role as Whiplash, Mickey Rourke paid a visit to Butyrka Prison, Moscow. Category:Movies Category:Phase 1